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Tehawen Ges' first letter
Tehewen Ges was a Radurja Watafiti who studied Islander Culture in the mid 300s. His first letter is recorded here. The First letter of Seeker Tehwan Ges to Mosi II, 340 common year. Happy News to you! I found the people of the Jeweled Cities. A small group of traders happened to be visiting a port. They welcomend me aboard. Their ships are large and compfortable. It had most of the trappings of a small village of related families. It was very informal. The captain was male and the first mate female. I think they were married. I was violently ill from the rolling ship. The sea is very rough when away from the land. We arrived at a deep harbor. A city called Turquoise is built on its shores. The captain of my ship offered to let me stay with him for a few weeks. He was the King himself! We travelled on smaller boats to his home island. The boats were called outriggers. They were large canoes and had a smaller pontoon on one side for balance. It took a couple of days to get to the next city. There were many sand bars, mangrove forests, and other natural obstacles. The city was called Pearl. I stayed here for several weeks. The King let me travel wherever I wanted on his boats. I was the guest of the entire country. They call themselves Islanders. They call everyone else Continentals. They are not all one race. Some are tall and dark skinned. They call themselves natives. There are many others, from almost every human group around the Inner Sea. There are even a few non-humans here. Native Islanders have webbing in their hands and feet. They swim really well. They can stay underwater for a very long time. It is very hot here, so the Islanders do not wear much clothing- breeches, wide hats, and various belts and harnesses to hold tools and other stuff. Men and women also wear lots of jewelry. Jewelry is money in the Jeweled Cities. Vulgar displays of wealth are common. Native Islanders are also very pretty. They find it funny that their ancestors used to keep the pretty people from the Continentals and kill the ugly ones when they raided a ship or village. They are proud of their pirate heritage. The Islanders do not know of the Great Ancestor. They do not care to listen. They worship spirits of the land, sea, and air. There are many tree trunks with carved and jeweled faces all over. They are called spirit poles. The islanders leave gifts of food, gems, and jewelry on and near the poles to appease the spirits. People called Shamans take the gifts and keep the spirit poles looking good. Shamans also bless ships when they leave port. It is a silly religion. All it does is keep the shamans wealthy and fed. Everything good is a blessing of the spirits. Everything bad requires more gifts to fix. There are no ceremonies for births or marriages. There is no such thing as marriage here. Only a child’s mother matters. Islanders wear decorative facial tattoos showing their mother’s family The Islanders are a sad people. They have no pride. Most live in thatched huts on stilts on remote islands. They hunt, fish, and harvest only what they need for that day. Drinking, sex, and sleep take up the rest of the day. They have no honor. They do not keep a single spouse. They steal from each other all the time. They think that if you possess something, it is yours. If you leave it behind, another may use it. Most of the things I brought with me have been taken by others. It is not much different in the four big cities. Pearl is a floating sea of derelict ships. All trade routes pass through Pearl. All wealth passes through the King’s pockets. Amber is controlled by the Shamans. It produces lumber from the trees they select. All the wealth flows to them. Turquoise is a city of miners. Things are more sensible. Tools are precious and not borrowed by others. Hard iron is scarce and precious. Opal is the best. Brewers, grain houses, and barrel makers live here. They compete with each other, but are friendly. They were nice to me when they sold me a donkey to ride up the steep cliff to the city. They were nice to me when the donkey disappeared after I went into a store. They were nice to me when they sold me another donkey for the ride down. It was the same donkey. Everyone calls one another “cousin”. It is odd. They do not care about parentage. How they pass property from one generation to another is a mystery. Another letter will be forthcoming. Seeker Tehawen Ges Category:Culture Category:Correspondence Category:Tellurian Culture